Everyone should know of Eastern Dispersal Link (EDL). It is a 8.1 km new highway linking the JB CIQ to the North-South Highway via the Pandan interchange. It has an elevated section of about 4.4 km. It was built with the cost of about RM1 billion. The concessionaire has been given a 34-year concession. It is scheduled to open on 1 March 2012 but has not been officially opened to traffic until now.
Duke Highway is 18.1 km long , 30% (5.4 km) of which is elevated and was built with a cost of just under RM1 billion. The concessionaire has been given a 34-year concession.
AKLEH is 7.9 km long, 100% (7.9 km) elevated and was built with a cost of RM0.8 billion. The concessionaire has been given a 33-year concession.
The Breakdown
The construction costs of the 3 highways differs a maximum of RM200 million between EDL and AKLEH. However, the proposed toll as per Diagram 1 for EDL is RM6.20 as compared to only RM1.50 for AKLEH and RM2.0 for DUKE. In terms of toll per kilometer as per Diagram 2, EDL is 76 sen per km, AKLEH is 18.9 sen per km and DUKE is 11.1 sen per km according to calculations based on available data. Why the proposed toll rate for EDL is so much since the number of years of concession as well as construction costs is more or less the same?
-----------------------------EDL AKLEH DUKE
Distance 8.1 KM 7.9 KM 18 KM
Elevated section 4.4 KM 7.9 KM 5.3 KM
Toll rate RM6.20 RM1.50 RM2.00
Toll /KM 0.765432 0.189873 0.111111 0.137469 (PLUS)
Why Malaysians must be afraid - a minimum of RM6.20 each way!
The EDL concessionarie had used 62,000 vehicles crossing the Causeway daily in its revenue budgeting. But then not all these 62,000 vehicles will be using the EDL as many are not living along the EDL highway and some Singaporean may just be visting the JB central business center.
But the toll concessionarie had already installed the “Touch N GO” toll collecting devises at the JB CIQ immigration booths that in turn operate the toll gates for both outward and inward bound vehicles. This would mean that all vehicles leaving and entering the JB CIQ would be charged the propsed toll of RM6.20 each way.
A return trip will cost RM12.40 more for those who would not be using the EDL. For those who would use the EDL, it will be the most expensive highway in Malaysia. If that is not bad enough, Singapore had also announced that they will also increase their toll rate by the same equivalent amount. It would then cost a motorist additional RM24.80 irrespective of whether or not the motorist will be using the EDL.
It just defies logic to collect toll from motorist who would not be using the highway. What is so special about the EDL that warrants such expensive rate apart from the fact that it is in Johor Bahru?
Precedent will be set
If the rakyat do not reject the proposed EDL toll rate, it will certainly set a precedence for future toll rate setting and may even lend strong support for existing toll concessionaries to revise their rate upward. Just imagine if PLUS uses this as a reason to revise its toll rate to say 30 sen per kilometer, the new toll will be RM90.13 from Skudai toll to Sungai Besi toll.
A coalition of NGOs and political parties called “Reject EDL” or “Tolak EDL” in Bahasa Malaysia, has been formed to campaign against such method and rate of collecting toll from motorists crossing the Causeway. The Coalition demands that the toll must be fair and reasonable and that only users be imposed with the toll. The Coalition is looking at a 3rd possible demand now.
Steven Choong is the National Deputy Secretary General of PKR
how much fee to enter Singapore?
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